Rafael de Cárdenas Outfits a Russian Mall in Chic

Rafael de Cárdenas knows a thing or two about fashion. He designed menswear for Calvin Klein before founding Rafael de Cárdenas/Architecture at Large. That experience came in handy when Au Pont Rouge, a department store in Saint Petersburg, Russia, inside a 1900’s building restored and renovated by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, asked him to revamp a 30,000-square-foot floor for contemporary men’s and women’s clothing.

Geometry is on display throughout, particularly along the ceiling. Above menswear, for example, teal anodized aluminum forms right angles. Meanwhile, above the circular lounge, some 500 stainless-steel cylinders create a kaleidoscope of reflections for those seated on the custom 25-foot-long benches below. Terrazzo flooring pulls the whole look together.